DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 20 Nov) – Environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) has called on local authorities to beef up their efforts to crack down on illegal quarrying activities along the Tamugan River.
In a statement forwarded to MindaNews on Wednesday, the environmental group noted that there are several unlawful quarrying activities undertaken along this river, which is part of a “protected area” that provides this city potable source of drinking water.
IDIS said that the “waterway, easements and ridges” of Tamugan River up to its junction to the Davao River in Barangay Lower Tamugan has been classified under the 2018-2028 Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance as a “critical watershed zone.”
“We urge authorities to expand their efforts by investigating other areas along the Tamugan River. Reports suggest that several desilting operators are conducting activities without proper permits, further threatening the integrity of this vital resource,” it said.
Prohibited activities in areas declared as a critical watershed zone include excavation or commercial quarrying of sand and gravel, earth fill, or limestone because it alters the river’s natural characteristics, destroys habitats, and increases pollution, according to IDIS.
It added that these activities pose “significant risks to one of the city’s primary sources of drinking water.”
Under the amended Watershed Code, only desilting activities are permitted within the city’s critical watershed zones to ensure minimal environmental impact.
Panigan-Tamugan Rivers provide this city at least 70% of the city’s water requirement through the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP), a multi-billion project of the Aboitiz-led Apo Agua Infrastructura inaugurated last February 7.
On Monday, operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Davao arrested 13 individuals involved in illegal quarrying along Tamugan River in Barangay Tamugan, Marilog District.
The arrested suspects, mostly laborers, truck drivers, and backhoe operators, were arraigned on Tuesday.
NBI-Davao spokesperson Ely Leano refused to disclose the identity of the quarry site owners, pending further investigation, but stated that they were operating as a syndicate and had connections to local government and barangay officials who are in cahoots with them.
“We cannot disclose the identity of the person behind this illegal quarrying, because we hatched the interdiction and arrest, he was not in the area, but we have strong evidence, which would link and connect him that indeed he was the one responsible for all these illegal quarrying in Tamugan river,” he said.
Leano added that the NBI-Davao would conduct a series of raids on illegal quarries, which are mostly operated by syndicates.
During Monday’s raid, the agency confiscated two dump trucks, one backhoe, and several log books containing the details of the persons behind the illegal quarry operation and the list of its “regular buyers,” which included construction companies.
The environmental group lauded NBI-Davao for “taking decisive action to halt illegal operations and hold those responsible for the degradation of our watershed accountable.”
Suspects are facing charges for violations of the Republic Act 7942, also known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, which prohibits illegal quarry operations. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
